Monica McCormick
Emily Reyes grew up in a chaotic, stressful home—one of ten siblings, with parents who struggled with addiction. Food became her therapy. By the time she was at her heaviest, nothing was fitting and she felt completely lost.
What pulled her out wasn't a program or a coach, it was a decision she made on her own, and a camera she pointed at herself. She started documenting her journey and lost 62 pounds. Then she had 14,000 followers. Then almost 300,000. Moms started writing to her saying she'd helped them lose 50, 70 pounds. She became, without planning it, exactly the kind of person she'd needed when she was struggling.
Building a business to match that mission took longer. As a NASM-certified personal trainer and nutrition coach, Emily tried platform after platform looking for something that felt right—something affordable, something customizable, something that didn't make her feel like she was just a number on someone else's revenue report.
She found Movement through a ChatGPT search at the end of a very long road. And she hasn't stopped building since.
Tell us about Buff Butterfly and who you built it for.
My whole demographic is pretty much moms. And what I noticed with my one-on-one coaching is that for some reason—I don't know what these moms were expecting—but it almost felt like they were disappointed when they would join. I think they kind of expect it to be more like what I'm doing now with Movement, where they get to choose what they want.
A lot of them loved it. Don't get me wrong, they saw amazing results. But a lot of people couldn't afford the one-on-one coaching. I had so many people that wanted to work with me but couldn't financially, or if they did, they would eventually want to cancel because it was hard to keep up with bills. They'd feel that pressure of having to pay so much while they're still learning. So I thought 'I need to create something affordable for my community.'
I want it to be $9.99 a month. And even though it's $9.99, I don't want it to feel like you get what you pay for. I want it to feel luxurious. I'm telling them about nutrition, showing them how to track their calories, I'm including boxing circuits from my family's boxing gym. I want it to be everything.
"I had so many people that wanted to work with me but couldn't financially. I need to create something affordable for my community."
What were you using before Movement, and what wasn't working?
I worked with different platforms—Avita, which used to be called System 2, and Lenus, which is more of a big one-on-one style coaching platform. And with those platforms, it almost ends up feeling like it's more about the money than it is about the people. They're on top of you—bring out more content, we're losing money. It just felt so pressuring. And I was so over that fast-scaling pressure.
I'm someone who has anxiety, OCD, and bipolar disorder. I can't run off someone else's time. As a mom, you already know how it is. So I kept looking.
I also tried Solin, and I genuinely loved Solin— but I didn't like the challenge feel to it. Every time you host a challenge, it's a new community. And what I noticed with a lot of moms is that if they're not in route with everyone else, they end up feeling behind and they give up within the second week. I didn't want it to feel like a challenge vibe.
"With those platforms, it almost ends up feeling like it's more about the money than it is about the people."
How did you find Movement?
Honestly, ChatGPT. I was asking for hours and hours. At one point, it gave me a platform that quoted me $250,000 to a million dollars to build a custom app. I literally started crying on the call. I was like, I don't have that money. I'm so sorry. And I just got off.
So I kept asking ChatGPT: 'give me an app platform that feels like a real app.' And then it brought me to Movement. It also brought me to Passion IO and a few others, and I had a meeting with Passion IO but the vibe wasn't it.
Then I went with Solin for a while, but I think it's because I didn't really understand Movement's platform yet. And then when money was running low and I was like—no, I'm going back to Movement. And I'm super happy I did.
"I kept asking ChatGPT: give me an app that gives off like a real app. And then it brought me to Movement."
What made you choose Movement specifically?
I think what I've been looking for—in all of my time on all of these different platforms—is something that genuinely doesn't feel money hungry. Like, when I talk to you guys [at Movement], it's just different. Something about your business is so just not like that. If I don't write back, you are not going to beg me. You guys genuinely love what you've done. That's what I get from Movement.
I was also going to go to another platform before I came back to you, and in their meeting they were putting your platform down. And I didn't like that—someone putting someone else down just to make their business look better. Right there it was a red flag. All these apps are the same.
But then talking to Movement is different.
"All these apps are the same. But then talking to Movement is different. You guys genuinely love what you've done. That's what I get from Movement."
What are you able to do now that you couldn't do before?
Everything just feels so customizable. I put my gym education section, nutrition topics—I wanted it to be like a one-stop shop and I've always always wanted to do that.
What I love most is how they have access to it and they can go as slow or as fast as they want. It doesn't feel pressured. They're not stressing about: 'oh my god, I've got to pay $150 and I'm behind.' Because with the one-on-one coaching, a lot of people would ghost because they would feel guilty that they were behind.
One thing I love about the workout format is the loop—but then if you swipe, you can see the more detailed version. So some of them just want to see me work out, and some of them want to see the details. That has been like oh my god, that's going to make so many moms happy! And not even my one-on-one coaching apps had that.
I also built out an active rest day section because what I've noticed is that if you automatically add cardio or an abs circuit to someone's plan, a majority of the time they either don't do it or they feel guilty if they don't. So I wanted it to be an option they choose. I included boxing-style circuits in there too—my family owns a boxing gym, so there's a whole boxing section with circuits they can pick from when they feel like it.
I also love the swap alternatives. If someone can't perform a squat, they can swap it out. And I love that they can track their weights, because progressive overload is key and the fact that they get to keep track of what they used the week before is huge.
I'm so mad I didn't find this three years ago.
"I'm so mad I didn't find this platform [Movement.so] three years ago."
What would you tell another coach or creator considering Movement?
Honestly, anybody could use this platform. It's so versatile it's not even funny. I was looking at it thinking—even myself (I was a makeup artist), I could come out with a makeup course. A therapist who wants to help people mentally could come out with a podcast. Just so many things you can do here.
And I love how you guys have a referral program because none of my influencer friends know about you guys—and I just know when they reach out, they're going to be curious.
"Honestly, anybody could use the Movement platform. It's so versatile it's not even funny."
Emily Reyes didn't set out to build a fitness app. She set out to lose weight, document it honestly, and see what happened. What happened was 290,000 people watching, moms losing 50 and 70 pounds, and a community that needed something more sustainable than a high-ticket coaching program with a clock running against them.
After a decade in the beauty industry, years of burnout on coaching platforms, and one call where she cried being quoted a quarter of a million dollars to build something custom—she found Movement, and built Buff Butterfly herself.
A fitness, nutrition, and boxing membership for moms, at a low monthly fee, with no pressure and no guilt. For any creator who's tired of platforms that make it feel more about the money than the people, her story is a good place to start. Check out Buff Butterfly and see what Emily's building.
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Ready to build a fitness and wellness app your community can afford, and actually wants to use?
Whether you're a NASM-certified trainer, nutrition coach, or fitness creator juggling expensive one-on-one coaching platforms that put pressure on you and your clients, Movement gives you a single branded app for everything (workouts, nutrition education, recipes, community, and progress tracking in one place), with the flexibility to build it exactly the way you've always envisioned it. No fast-scaling pressure. No platform telling you how to run your business. Just your content, your community, and your brand all in one place.
Build something your members come back to every day—not because they have to, but because it genuinely fits their life.
What is Movement?
Movement is an all-in-one platform that helps coaches, creators, and community builders launch beautifully branded apps and memberships—without needing to be technical or piece together multiple tools.
Whether you're offering courses, events or programs, selling digital products, or hosting a private community, Movement gives you everything you need in one place: content and video hosting, chats, events, directories, and more.
It’s designed to be intuitive for you and seamless for your audience—so you can focus on delivering value, not managing tech.
For coaches who are tired of stitching together tools like Kajabi, Squarespace, and Facebook Groups, Movement offers a simpler, more scalable way to grow your business and deepen client connection—all under your own brand.
Find out more or sign up for a free account here.
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